New music review with singles from Lava La Rue, Militarie Gun and Radio Free Alice
- Julia Mason
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Lava La Rue Prince of Bologna, Militarie Gun World's Always Burning feat. Mannequin Pussy and Radio Free Alice Kick In The Shins
Artist: Lava La Rue
Track: Prince of Bologna
London multi-hyphenate Lava La Rue has shared a driving new single titled Prince Of Bologna. The track is released as part of Speedy Wunderground’s single series, with a limited 7” release due out 30 July 2026. The track follows Lava’s recent EP Do You Know Everything (D.Y.K.E), which was released via BMG earlier this year and reframed the West London musician as both artist and band to widespread plaudits.
Speedy Wunderground founder and producer-in-demand, Dan Carey, first discovered Lava while attending a festival. He says: “I was wandering around Latitude Festival in 2021 and came across Lava La Rue, and watched their set. When it finished, I remember thinking that I’d seen the coolest person ever. I wanted to make a record with them… and 5 years later, I finally got to make a Lava La Rue Speedy Single!”
The resulting single, Prince Of Bologna, is a high adrenaline melange of motorik overdriven guitars, organ, and raucous digitally augmented drumming that just breaks the 2-minute mark. The track was written and co-produced with Tomasso Medica (Husky Loops), and is an ode to overheard conversations with lyrics such as “I think Turnstile is for girls”, “I’m rejecting my OBE”, and “I am famous! On Reddit!”. The single is accompanied by an exhilarating video directed and edited by Lava, which sees a fast-paced parkour chase take place in Brighton after cans of beer are “stolen” from a supermarket.
Speaking on the video Lava says: “If it's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission was the ultimate final boss in music video form, this would be it. I floated the idea to Dan [Carey] that I had an elusive video concept & if he could give me the speedy thumbs up to get myself and the band four train tickets to Brighton, our trusty camcorder could handle the rest. Truth is, my big video idea was to cause a bit havoc on the streets & roofs of Sussex, and with the help of parkour locals Ziggi & Mitchy, their insider knowledge of all the sick rooftop spots brought this video to new heights lol.”
Speaking on the single Lava says: “Prince of Bologna is lyrically a speed date of conversations I’ve overheard. sort of like a love poem to getting fragments of other people's opinions in the smoking area of the George Tavern. Tommaso, my dear friend from Bologna, had found a beat up 70s Italian organ with a built-in vintage drum machine that we pretty much jammed the whole initial idea on in 30 mins at 1am in his flat in Tulse Hill. I showed the idea to Dan Carey, and he told me to get the band in his studio to flesh it out into a full Speedy Wunderground single - straight recorded live on to tape as a full band, lights off, yada yada.”
As is customary in the single series, the 7” release will also feature a dub reworking by Dan Carey titled Prince Of Dublogna.
* * *
Artist: Militarie Gun
Track: World's Always Burning feat. Mannequin Pussy
Los Angeles-based Militarie Gun announces God Save The Gun (Deluxe) due 7 August via Loma Vista Recordings. The extended version of their recently released and celebrated album God Save The Gun contains three new tracks, including the new song World’s Always Burning featuring Mannequin Pussy out today. The new songs on God Save The Gun (Deluxe) were originally recorded to appear on the album, but upon reflection, the band decided they felt more like the next stage following the more internal and first-person perspective themes explored on God Save The Gun.
Speaking in his own words about the album, vocalist Ian Shelton shares: "Everything in God Save The Gun became so focused on the internal, that when it came to fitting these songs in, it felt like they had stepped outside of that perspective. In my head these songs started to form into the feeling of finally coming to after being so caught up in your own head, and then realising the rest of the world is still out there and you haven’t been actively participating.”
God Save The Gun (Deluxe) and World’s Always Burning closely follow Militarie Gun’s performance on Elevator Music featuring live versions of songs including B A D I D E A, Kick, God Owes Me Money, Thought You Were Waving, and Throw Me Away. Earlier this year, Militarie Gun took over the coveted NPR Tiny Desk, where they performed stripped back and new versions of songs from throughout their discography.
Militarie Gun is currently wrapping up their headline tour across Europe before returning to North America for their aptly named 20 Songs for 20 Dollars tour, which sees the band selling tickets for just $20 across all dates. The 27-date tour kicks off this September in Oklahoma City with stops in Austin, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver and more before wrapping up with a hometown show in Los Angeles on 15 October. Militarie Gun will be supported by Softcult, Shady Nasty and Dazy on select dates. Additionally, Militarie Gun will perform at CBGB Festival in New York City this September ahead of supporting the legendary Sex Pistols for a string of West Coast dates this October.
Militarie Gun Live Dates
* = with support from Softcult, Shady Nasty and Dazy
^= supporting Sex Pistols
July
22 - Essen, DE @ Turock
24 - Landunez, FR @ Festival de la Mer
26 - Southwold, UK @ Latitude Festival
September
5 - Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma Festival
6 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall*
8 - Dallas, TX @ AM/FM*
9 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk*
10 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea's Live*
12 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum*
13 - Miami, FL @ Churchills*
14 - Orlando, FL @ Conduit*
16 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade - Hell*
17 - Nashville, TN @ Eastside Bowl*
18 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle*
19 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern*
20 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat*
22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts*
24 - North Toronto, CA @ Second Summer Festival
25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Four Chord Music Festival
26 - Brooklyn, NY @ CBGB Festival
27 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
29 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop*
30 - Detroit, MI @ The Loving Touch*
October
1 - Chicago, IL @ Metro*
3 - Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium*
4 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line*
6 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater*
7 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro*
9 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos*
10 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre*
11 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre*
13 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel*
14 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer's*
15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater*
16 - San Diego, CA @ SOMA^
17 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre^
18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium^
* * *
Artist: Radio Free Alice
Track: Kick In The Shins
Naarm/Melbourne new wave/post-punk band Radio Free Alice release new single Kick in the Shins via Atlantic Records amid a busy summer of festivals. Like a frenzied stumble through whatever life deals the band on any given day, Kick In The Shins is driven by Noah Learmonth’s candid storytelling and punctuated by the sharp uppercut of Michael Phillips’ saxophone.
“Kick in the Shins is a fusion of two songs that never felt all the way complete,” Learmonth says of the new track. “We loved the verse of one of them and the chorus of the other, and it worked when we combined the two. At its core, it explores the feeling of being confused by the culture around you, and the isolation that often comes with that confusion.”
Kick in the Shins sees the band continue their work across continents with Ewan Pearson (Depeche Mode, Metronomy) and Peter Katis (Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie, The National), following the misty-eyed jangle pop of Radio Free Alice’s debut single in collaboration with Atlantic Records, Lunch Money.
2026 has seen Radio Free Alice join Geese for their sold-out February tour of Australia, and make their debut appearance at New York’s Governor’s Ball hot on the heels of sharing Lunch Money. The band are currently in the midst of a busy summer of festivals, appearing on stages in Czechia, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and France in recent weeks.
Formed in Gadigal Land/Sydney in 2020 before making the move to Naarm/Melbourne, Radio Free Alice - Noah Learmonth (he/him; vocals, guitar), Jules Paradiso (he/him; guitar), Michael Phillips (he/him; bass, saxophone) and Lochie Dowd (he/him; drums) - continue to make their mark with their wildly consistent output and vital live performances.
Radio Free Alice Live Dates
July
24 - Sheffield, UK - Tramlines Festival
25 - Abingdon, UK - Truck Festival
31 - Derbyshire Dales, UK - Y Not Festival
August
8 - Newquay, UK - Boardmasters Festival
14 - Gothenburg, SE - Way Out West Festival
21 - Saint Pölten, AT - Frequency Festival
23 - Istanbul, TR - Babylon Soundgarden Festival
27 - Oost-Vlieland, NL - Into The Great Wide Open Festival
29 - Reading, UK - Reading Festival
September
18 - Chicago, US – Riot Fest
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